"But now, O our God, what can we say after this? For we have disregarded the commands" - Ezra 9:10

In 1977, New York's Citicorp tower was completed. The 59-story building was hailed for its technical elegance and singular grace. The structural engineer who designed the steel superstructure was William J. LeMessurier. A year after the building opened, LeMessurier came to a frightening realization. The Citicorp tower was flawed. Without his approval, during construction the joints in the steel superstructure had been bolted, a common and acceptable practice, but does not make for as strong a joint as welding does. What made that a critical problem, though, was that in LeMessurier's calculations he had not taken into account the extra force of a nonperpendicular wind.

He now calculated that a wind strong enough to buckle a crucial bolted joint came every sixteen years in New York City. LeMessurier weighed his options. If he blew the whistle on himself, he faced potential lawsuits, probable bankruptcy, and professional disgrace. But lives were at stake. So he did what he had to do. He informed all concerned. After informing city and corporate leaders, the critical welds were made within three months at the cost of millions of dollars. LeMessurier's career and reputation were not destroyed but enhanced. A fellow engineer commended LeMessurier's courage to say, "I got a problem; I made the problem; let's fix the problem."

Sin is a deadly problem. It can't be covered-up; it has to be owned up. Is there sin in your life? Today in prayer, confess any sin in your life to the Lord and know that it will restore your relationship with Him.

"It does not spoil your happiness to confess your sin. The unhappiness is in not making the confession." - Charles H. Spurgeon

God's Word: "He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy." - Proverbs 28:13

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2002, Devotional E-Mail DEVOTIONS IN EZRA, NEHEMIAH, AND ESTHER pkennedy@devotional.com

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